The first year we moved to Springfield, Virginia, I went on a hunt for good honey. My first venture with four other girlfriends was a very disappointing trip. The honey we sampled tasted like it had sulfured molasses in it. That's when I learned to read the labels to see where the honey comes from! After our first disappointing venture to a distributer, we decided to go straight to the beeswax
so to speak. We found a wonderful beekeeper in upper Maryland who gave us a great bulk order price. We could smell the sweet scent as our buckets filled up almost to the brim with about 50 to 60 pounds each. We purchased clover/wildflower and poplar honey our first year with a haul of about 800 pounds. Once home, we used pouring buckets with spouts on the bottom (made by our beekeeper) to empty each honey bucket into clean canning jars for long-term storage.
Honey can be stored indefinitely if stored properly in clean food-safe containers and in a cool, dry location. It's not unusual for honey to crystalize after it sits for awhile. If you want to turn it back into liquid, you can put your container in warm water. I would not recommend microwaving - I don't know why. I've been known to place a jar of crystalized honey in my car in the summer with the windows rolled up. It doesn't take long to melt it down.
A good time to start looking for a beekeeper if you want to buy in bulk is about mid-summer. By that time, they can tell you what kind of season the bees are having and if they think they will have enough to sell to you. Find out what is the latest date you can pick up your honey. Some beekeepers have to have their vats emptied and cleaned before the honey begins to sugar.
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